![Jessica Hammond-Graf [#43]: Launching a Professional Women's Rugby League in the U.S.](https://s3.castbox.fm/4f/cb/13/dca4ca269a4d6338a1ee7a9496892276d2_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Jessica Hammond-Graf [#43]: Launching a Professional Women's Rugby League in the U.S.")
Jessica Hammond-Graf [#43]: Launching a Professional Women's Rugby League in the U.S.
Description
On today’s episode, I’m joined by Jessica Hammond Graf, President of Women’s Elite Rugby - the first professional womens rugby league in the US set to launch later this year.
Built upon the strong foundation of the Women’s Premier League and looking ahead to the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup to be hosted in the U.S., WER aims to usher in the next stage of evolution for world-class women's rugby and Jessica is the perfect fit at the helm. A former US rugby 7's player, and retired NCAA Division I Deputy Athletic Director, her career has been dedicated to creating empowered women to lead in the sporting world.
In our conversation, we discuss turning women’s rugby in the U.S. from pay-to-play to paid-to-play, selecting locations for the initial teams, securing sponsors and media distribution, the impact star players can have on a sport, and so much more.
Timestamps
2:00 - Jessica's Journey
5:00 - The Creation of Women's Elite Rugby
6:00 - Women's Rugby in the U.S.
10:00 - Women's Rugby World Cup Momentum
13:00 - Securing Sponsorship and Investment as a Startup League
17:00 - Exploring Revenue Streams
20:00 - What Will WER Look Like in 2025?
24:00 - Being Player-First
27:00 - Owning a Slot on the Calendar
30:00 - Thinking About a Broadcast Strategy
33:00 - Ilona Maher and the Impact of a Super-Star Athletes
41:00 - The Future for WER
Additional Links
Women’s Elite Rugby pro league plans 2025 launch ahead of US World Cups
Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn - Here
Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - Here
![Avelino [#65]: Reshaping the Future of Football Representation with Nexus Football Group](https://s3.castbox.fm/75/55/cb/79838e1b5ed79163b6e06ede3f181776be_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Avelino [#65]: Reshaping the Future of Football Representation with Nexus Football Group")
![Misha Sher [#63]: Lessons from 20 Years in Sports and Athlete Marketing from WPP's Global Head of Sport & Entertainment](https://s3.castbox.fm/a8/e1/6c/31e26cb3e238a613693892e3a14dfecde1_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Misha Sher [#63]: Lessons from 20 Years in Sports and Athlete Marketing from WPP's Global Head of Sport & Entertainment")
![Rob Pilgrim [#62]: Making YouTube the Best Digital Destination for Sports Fans](https://s3.castbox.fm/57/99/f8/88a683d73978aa39a3feadf8ec5a2869fc_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Rob Pilgrim [#62]: Making YouTube the Best Digital Destination for Sports Fans")
![Vansa Chatikavanij [#60]: Investing in a New Era of Sports and Entertainment at Present Ventures](https://s3.castbox.fm/71/51/8a/93241385496eda65fdd7cb4e3f19d8d6d3_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Vansa Chatikavanij [#60]: Investing in a New Era of Sports and Entertainment at Present Ventures")
![Matthew Jafarian [#57]: How the Miami HEAT Empowered Entrepreneurship from Within](https://s3.castbox.fm/fe/67/da/910384d1fa1011c543f46f182cbc62229c_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Matthew Jafarian [#57]: How the Miami HEAT Empowered Entrepreneurship from Within")
![Rich Buchanan [#56]: Bridging the Gap Between the Boardroom and the Dressing Room](https://s3.castbox.fm/b3/64/ef/2049822dbab0a8e418f47a1b830438a8b0_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Rich Buchanan [#56]: Bridging the Gap Between the Boardroom and the Dressing Room")
![Sukh Sadhra [#55]: Selling Out the Premiership Rugby Final Two Years Running](https://s3.castbox.fm/09/e6/75/95f9edb4fc79e2e02074f0ed47ba1606e2_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Sukh Sadhra [#55]: Selling Out the Premiership Rugby Final Two Years Running")
![Leanne Bats [#53]: Taking Lessons from FC Barcelona and the All Blacks to a Regional Sports Trust](https://s3.castbox.fm/de/42/ae/a6187bd3d6d32f2abdcd5bef16018ad7c2_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Leanne Bats [#53]: Taking Lessons from FC Barcelona and the All Blacks to a Regional Sports Trust")
![Michael Israel [#52]: Applying AI Across The Kraft Group](https://s3.castbox.fm/03/3c/a8/2335eba1f47eb930458d2c9ad593335456_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Michael Israel [#52]: Applying AI Across The Kraft Group")
![Andy Thompson [#51]: Taking SailGP to an Audience Beyond Sailing](https://s3.castbox.fm/21/ea/e0/2a86ed9ad097265b1a4f607ed0bfcc12c5_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Andy Thompson [#51]: Taking SailGP to an Audience Beyond Sailing")
![Dan Porter [#50]: Building Overtime into an IP Powerhouse for the Next Generation of Sports Fans](https://s3.castbox.fm/a7/9a/98/b5831ceed9bf115bb3477fbbf1259a734f_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Dan Porter [#50]: Building Overtime into an IP Powerhouse for the Next Generation of Sports Fans")
![Siobhan Cassidy [#48]: Why CHANEL Sponsored The Boat Race](https://s3.castbox.fm/8f/c0/45/b6dc9fa4587bac8bc33301a6d01f0275e8_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Siobhan Cassidy [#48]: Why CHANEL Sponsored The Boat Race")
![Emily Heath [#47]: Leveraging a Global Brand to Get Girls Moving](https://s3.castbox.fm/ba/a7/1c/7a44e3d61b92f07e218013f9a76d0bd204_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Emily Heath [#47]: Leveraging a Global Brand to Get Girls Moving")
![Brett Gosper [#46]: Taking the NFL, International](https://s3.castbox.fm/69/90/01/61c6216f9248780135642e0c8b5ccb3a7c_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Brett Gosper [#46]: Taking the NFL, International")
![Michael Yormark [#49]: Empowering Vini Jr and Siya Kolisi's Purpose-Led Approach](https://s3.castbox.fm/ec/1e/8c/587d2536d821722e895e6ed98fe9a53cc8_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Michael Yormark [#49]: Empowering Vini Jr and Siya Kolisi's Purpose-Led Approach")
![Roddy Campbell [#45]: Transforming the Australian Open into the 'Super Bowl of APAC'](https://s3.castbox.fm/8a/d2/bf/00a641c766b1939ec4e72557fa48b7be69_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Roddy Campbell [#45]: Transforming the Australian Open into the 'Super Bowl of APAC'")
![Olga Correia [#44]: Why Sport Must Embrace Hybrid Reality Formats Like supertri-E](https://s3.castbox.fm/d9/16/1e/278aa15a0a3ff133a734089b72b9ddb9d0_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Olga Correia [#44]: Why Sport Must Embrace Hybrid Reality Formats Like supertri-E")
![Elena Mirandola [#42]: Running FC Como Women Like a Tech Startup](https://s3.castbox.fm/40/bb/cb/1ccd6b73efda6ddccdc27235f6f2814e6e_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Elena Mirandola [#42]: Running FC Como Women Like a Tech Startup")
![Dr Susie Tomson [#41]: Being Sustainable Doesn't Need to Mean Doing Less](https://s3.castbox.fm/87/2c/0a/255bfcd85a8fc57310359a97792a879073_scaled_v1_400.jpg "Dr Susie Tomson [#41]: Being Sustainable Doesn't Need to Mean Doing Less")
United States
